


twisted dreams

by vampirekiki



Category: Jrock, the GazettE
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, M/M, Murder Mystery, Mystery, Supernatural Elements, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-09
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2018-04-08 11:55:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4304031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vampirekiki/pseuds/vampirekiki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>serial murder cases and your strange new neighbors next door.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. chapter I restless night

**Author's Note:**

> It's supposed to be a oneshot, and 'twisted dreams' is the titled of J (bassist of Luna Sea)'s song. By the way, do feel free to insert whatever Jrockers you like into the different characters. 
> 
> A big thank for my beta, Karyta, aka kyoselflove

twisted dreams

_Chapter I restless night_

_Yes... let the future come true_  
The macabre future Yes... let it come near  
Your true wish 

_Luna Sea -Be gone_

 

As far as your concern, your night of peace and quietness has already been ruined. It has been for. A. While.

In the privacy of your own tiny bedroom, you try, for unmemorable times, to will yourself to fall asleep, but your effort has so far been met with no success. All thanks to your two neighbors, your goddamn _new_ neighbors who have just moved into the apartment next door.

Your sleeping problem began shortly after the pair moved in.

As far as you know, there are only two people--two males to be particular, living next door to you, you don't know those people, you don't even know what their names are for there is no name-tag on the front door; but who would have guessed two people can create so much noise through the night?

Sighing, you fish out your smartphone from under the pillow to check the time, 1:17 am. Most people should be sleeping by this hour, but not your newly moved-in neighbors. Not only are they still very much awake and much to your inconvenience, they are also frightening. They have been at it for what feels like an entire night for you. 

At the dead of the night, most people would have been a bit more considerate and kept their voice down, but judging from what you had experienced throughout the entire month, your new neighbors don't seem to be the type to respect the needs of the others.

You had already tried to block out the noise, goodness you really do try. However those words...even after you put your head under your pillow, you can still hear bits and pieces of conversations:

_Why are you doing it?_

_Why can’t you...just learn!?_

_...see what you have done?_

**_See what you have made me do!?_ **

The angry shouting is answered by a small sob.

Damn the thin walls and the poorly done sound proofed construction of this building; they bear as much responsibility to your misery.

Suddenly you hear a loud 'smash' sound from the other side of the wall. You can tell something has seemed to be broken.

The noise is followed by the muffled sound of sob.

Ooh-oh.

This time 'the argument' between those two seems to be even more...fiery than any other night in the past.

You roll over, once again fish your smartphone out from beneath the pillow, this time you put your earphones on, then switch on your music playlist for relaxing light music, you turn up the volume until you can no longer hear the noises from next door. 

The angry shouting, the sound of things breaking, normally you would become concerned over these, but not tonight, not when you are so damn tired. All you want to do is to go back to sleep.

Plus, it isn't the first time this kind of thing happened.

***

The next morning, you wake up shortly after your alarm clock starts ringing, you roll yourself out of bed, fresh yourself up, get changed and then left your apartment to go to work.

You take the staircases, say 'good morning' to the few neighbors you happen to walk by, those neighbors are also on their way to work or to school, just like you, just like everyone else. It is a sunny early summer morning. The sky is clear and the weather hasn't yet gotten too hot. 

You don't remember ever seeing your two new neighbors next door up and about so early, not once. You figure unlike most people, neither of them need to get up to work, or go to school/college for study.

Then you remind yourself, how other people live their lives is none of your business.

Even it doesn't keep you from getting curious about what exactly is going on next door. Why have they been arguing about so often? What's their problem exactly? And if they really hate each other so much, then why would they be moving in here, together?

You keep those thoughts to yourself, knowing well you cannot possibly ring the bell and expect the residents who live in the apartment next to yours to answer; though there is no shrugging for this muddy sense of curiosity.

Quickening your pace, you hurry toward the train station, soon you are walking past a convenient store, you manage to take a glance at the rows of newspaper the store is selling at the front. It doesn't escape your notice that every single newspaper, they are reporting the same story:

Serial murderer stalks Tokyo's streets.

You had already known this story. How can you not when it is the most shocking, sensational news story in the last few months?

Yes...there had always been murderers lurking around in the dark corners of this city of over a billion residents, searching for the weak and the helpless and preying upon them...sometime the police would manage to catch those monsters, sometimes they don't. However, the city had never seen something like _this_ before. This murderer, he operates in a way no one had ever seen before. Men, women, elderly and even underage teenagers, he doesn’t seem to care whom his victim is, all he seems to care about is the kill.

And the killing may not even be the worst part of the crime. 

Although it is never openly and publicly acknowledged by any of the authorities, and the press has mostly been keeping it 'hush, hush', but there are still rumors about what the murderer had done to the victims' bodies _after_ he killed them.

There are rumors...many, many different things are being whispered. More wild claims had been discussed on the Internet, each of the theories getting darker and more disgusting than the other. It was suspected that the police had kept the most hideous, gruesome detail of the crime from the general public.

The unspeakable things a person can do to someone else's mortal remains...it has been hinted that a handful of seasoned policemen and new reporters puked their guts out in disgust after taking a look at the crime scenes.

Despite the growing panic of the public, the police authority had not once came up to clarify whether those rumors are true or not. They only tell the public they are still investigating these serial murder cases, but yes, the evil murderer will be arrested, everyone needs to have faith and trust the police to handle the grave matter, yada, yada.

Still, _before_ the police can capture said serial murderer, it is pretty much up to the citizens to be on guard, take action and ensure their own safety: _Please remember to lock your windows and door. If you see suspicious looking people in the neighborhood, be on guard, call for help, call the police._ The police officials have given their warning.

Still, the general public is aware of the fact that despite the police's ongoing investigation and their warning, new corpses have still been turning up in the city, one after another. 

It doesn't make people feel safer, not particularly. 

As a man who lives alone and who doesn't always have company for safety measure (sometimes you wonder if something really did happen to you, how long will it take for people to notice), you know you have reason to be on guard---after all judging from the murderer's past record, men can fall prey to his killing spree as well. Still at the same time, you feel strangely disconnected with the growing unease of the public, the whole thing still feels to you like something that happens somewhere else, somewhere far, far away from you.

Now, back to trouble much closer to home.

***  
You have never meant to peer and poke into someone else's privacy, you have never meant to interfere. However, despite your better judgement, eventually you still find yourself getting _in_ with the matters of your mysterious new neighbors. All it has to take is just a simple encounter.

One day during the midsummer season, you arrive to the apartment building late at night. You had gone out with some of your coworkers and drank with them. By the time you go back home, you are tipsy and are feeling rather heated up all over, thanks to the alcohol still circulating within your system. 

Usually you would have gone home and called it a night, but this time the summer heat in the air has made you long for fresher air for a moment before you have to go home. So instead of walking down the hallway of your floor, you take yourself to the staircase at the back, then lit a cigarette.

Inhaling the smoke then exhaling it deeply, you lean forward to rest your elbows on the railing. Looking out, the buildings of the neighborhood are now spreading before you, with countless spots of lamplight glowing beneath the night sky. Soft breeze brushing past you as you stand there, the fresh air helps your mind to become clearer. You will give yourself this small break before you go back to your own apartment. 

You thought you are alone before you hear a voice speak up from somewhere behind you.

"Do you have a cigarette?"

It is a simple question but it makes you stir instantly, your own cigarette nearly drops out from your hand. You had thought you were alone. You just... _hadn't seen anyone here_. You didn't notice someone else is also there. 

Or perhaps you are in fact more drunk than you had thought.

But surely someone else has been there the whole time, for when you turn back, you see a figure sitting at the top of the staircase behind you.

Under the dim ring of light from the sole light bulb on the ceiling above, you can see the features of a young man, wearing a worn out grey t-shirt and a pair of jeans; short warm brown hair framing his boyish face, a pair of almond shaped eyes the same color of his tress. There is a catlike expression in those orbs and you find it intriguing. Just as equally catching is the mischievous half smile hanging at the corner of the young man's pale lips. With his look, it is difficult to tell his age, this guy can pass off as both a minor and a very young-looking adult.

Instantly you recognize this guy, he is one of your next door neighbors. 

Despite not knowing their names, you had seen those two passing through the hallway from a few times before, but those encounters have always been brief and you have never seen neither of them up close. You have never gotten a good look of neither of your new neighbors' faces, since neither of them like to linger too long outside of their apartment's door. They also never seem to like hanging out with people who live in the building to begin with.

And it definitely is the first time you hear the younger one of the two males speak.

Before you can think of a reply, the brown haired youth asks again, "Mind to share?"

The youth speaks without any hint of shyness, his brown eyes fix on the cigarette between your fingers in expectancy; as if it were the most normal thing to ask for a cigarette from a stranger.

Yes, you two are strangers to one another, although you and this young man have lived next door for a month, separated by just a thin wall.

The rational side of you tries to tell you to ignore this strange young man, this side of you tries to tell you it isn't a good idea to get involved with a person whom you know visibly nothing about. Not when his behaviors aren't so...normal to begin with.

But, against your better judgement, you still find yourself climbing up the stairs, until you are only a few steps below the brown head, who had still been sitting at the top of the stairs, the expecting expression still on his face.

For a moment, you have a feeling that this young man must have known all along that you would do as he says, but how would he know that?

Shrugging this troubling thought out of your mind, without a word you offer a cigarette to the youth who remains seated at the top of the grey cement stairs. 

With a hint of a smile at the corners of his lips, the brown haired youth accepts your offer, then seconds later he accepts your help to light the cigarette just as gladly. 

"Thanks."

You almost fail to notice his word of gratification because under the flash of your lighter, for the first time you notice the dark purple colored bruise around the youth's left eye. 

You don't know what to say, you can only take a few steps backward until your back comes to rest against the wall behind you. You are mostly sober by now, and you can't take your eyes from the young man's slim form as the latter draws deeply on the cigarette and then exhales the smoke through his parted lips. For a moment, his face is half hidden beyond a fleeing veil of pale grey smoke.

You keep your eyes on the youth, it doesn't take long for you to notice another bruise upon the latter's body. This time it is his hand, the one with the cigarette dangling between his fingers, there is a ring of bruises around the thin wrist, as if someone had grasped him for too long too hard. 

Instantly you recall the shouting and sound of sobbing you had overheard the other night.

For the whole time, the brown head doesn't seem to be bothered by the fact that you are eyeing him. If he ever paid attention to your gaze, he never utters a word.

Taking one last draw from the cigarette, this young stranger with a pair of catlike eyes and mischievous smile straightens himself, glancing down at the general direction of where you stand, then whispers.

"See you around."

Then he slips down the stairs and soon vanishes.

To be continued.


	2. chapter II behind the thin wall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wake suddenly in the middle of the night, to noise coming through the wall.

twisted dreams Chapter II 

_behind the thin wall_

 

_In the remorseless night_  
In the remorseless nightmare  
A toast! Rejoice! Over and over...  
I vow to this void  
Yes... let it come nearer  
As much as you want 

_Luna Sea -Be gone_

You wake suddenly in the middle of the night, to noise coming through the wall. One moment you are still dreaming, but the next thing you know you are wide awake, eyes snapping open to stare at the ceiling above you. 

At first you don't know why you are suddenly awakened, but then your ears start to pick up the noises floating on the still night air around you. 

You suck in a breath, turning to your side, trying to figure out what had disturbed you from your sleep. It only takes a few seconds for you to be sure that suspicious noises are coming from the apartment next to you again, in the ungodly hours of midnight. 

At first you can't quite get what you are hearing. You almost mistake it for the sound of someone sobbing again, but you soon realize the noises you are hearing aren't exactly what you had thought it to be.

It had been a few days since the last time you saw the strange young man at the top of the stairs, he and this mysterious flatmate of his had kept things mostly quieted down, but now _this_...

Once again, sounds of strange movements and noises are seeping from behind the wall separating your bedroom from your next door neighbors', noises of very different nature than the last time you heard them are echoing around the still night air in your room. 

The sound of muttering, as if the person was in pain, but at the same time, not quite.

Sound of wordless whimpers, laced with a hint of excitement. Sounds of bodies smashing against each other, the subtle noises of a bed rattling against the wall as two people moved desperately together on top of it.

A man's deep voice, groaning low at his throat, his breath labored.

The male voice is followed by another set of sounds, it sounds softer but at the same time it is laced with suppressed pleasure.

The voice from the young male you had met on the stairs the other day.

What really is going on behind the wall?

Oh.

Panting, suppressed moans, the sound of passion, bodies rolling atop a creaking bed, the sounds of two animals in heat, it seems to you.

You know exactly what they are doing behind the wall.

Oh no oh no oh noooo.

You don't want to hear this. You know to some people, your current situation would be like a wet dream coming true, but you don't want this. You are not that kind of person.

But you can't block out sound, no matter how much you try, and the noise still keeps on coming.

By now, the unfamiliar male voice had become quieter, making it easier for you to hear the sound created by his partner, and you had heard this voice before.

Someone had spoke to you with that same voice, just days ago. You had seen the owner of this voice before, on the staircase. That person was speaking to you back then, talking normally during your brief conversation with him. His voice was soft, laid-back at that time, hardly anything like the high-pitched cries of pleasure you are now hearing.

The young man was purring under his breath. Goodness! This sound. You shiver under your light blanket. His voice...the muffled noise he is making...it is thick with desire and it sounds almost _sweet_.

Those noises, the breathy whimpers, groans and purrs. You have no idea which part of it is the actual sound you are hearing, which part is merely the creation of your shameful fantasy.

 

Once again, you stuff your head under your pillow and try going back to sleep.

***

The next morning, you go to work just as usual. On your way to the train station you find it difficult to suppress the yawns, you still didn't have a good night sleep, and it is wearing you down.

You think about the long day in the office ahead of you, and you cannot help cursing your godforsaken new neighbors. You think to yourself rather bitterly. People who are as inconsiderate as these should have complaints and harsh criticism from their neighbors thrown their ways. 

It actually makes you wonder why no one has started complaining about the noises of fighting and... _fucking_ just yet.

You give the whole situation a quick examination and you instantly understand why no one else seems to notice what has been going on with your next door neighbors: You are living on the top floor of the building, and the apartment in question is at the end of the hallway, and the apartment at your right side happens to be empty for the time being, which means you are more or less the only one who can notice the noises made by those two males.

So...what should you do with the awkward situation you have found yourself in? Should you go to the caretakers of the apartment building and file a complaint against your next door neighbors? Would it actually do you some good?

Even after you got off the train and arrived to the office, you still can't figure out a proper answer. 

Despite your troubled thoughts, things go on uneventfully in the office that day. You say good morning to all of your coworkers when you get to the office, you handle the tasks given to you, you answer phone calls whenever the phone on your desk starts ringing, you chat briefly with other coworkers when they happen to pass by your cube.

You go out of the office with the rest when lunch break arrives. You go down to the company's canteen at the lower floor with a few coworkers who are closer to you, you have lunch with them together. You have small talks with your peers, you laugh when someone else says something funny. When your lunch break ends, you and your peers make your way back to the office. Not a thing is out of place, business is just as usual.

Until you reach your floor and see a small group of people gathering in the hallway. 

You wonder what those people are doing there, normally people should be hurrying back to their own offices by the end of lunch break, _not_ gathering in the hallway chatting away like a bunch of school girls, talking among themselves in excitement. You frown, what could possibly make a bunch of grown people act like this instead of heading to their own workplaces?

Now you are getting closer to this strange group, you can see them gather in a circle, talking rapidly, some of them even throw their arms up in the air; but now you can also see the expression on their faces more clearly, and you realize what you had mistaken as excitement is something else entirely. 

It is fear.

You are getting closer now, you continue to eye the crowd suspiciously but no one has seemed to notice you approaching; until finally you see someone suddenly breaks out from the tight circle, whirling himself around and within the next few seconds, your eyes meet with the other man.

Instantly you recognize the man as one of your coworkers, it is a familiar face, a brown haired fellow whom you consider a friend; and judging from the look the latter was giving you, he recognizes you too, just as well.

It is Nao, now he is walking straight to you, his face is ashy pale, his lips twist in nervousness as he tries to speak. There is a wild look in his eyes, a look which you have never seen from him before.

"Have you seen that!?" Nao asks, his gaze fixes straight on you.

"See what?" You look down at your coworker, puzzled.

"So you haven't! I bet you just won't believe it!" Your coworker pants with what sounds like excitement to you as he shoves his iPad at you. The screen shows the blank page of a website which you had never visited before, and at the top of the page, there is a link.

On top of the link, there are letters written in bright red: a warning.

You stared at the iPad's screen and the suspicious website and then at Nao; still not knowing what the latter is up to. In the end you still click the link, even knowing you are very likely going to regret it.

At first all you can see is only a bird-view photo, seemingly taken by someone who stood on the rooftop of a building, then pointed his or her camera downward, and snapped a photo from three or four stories above ground. The one who took the photo must be quite unskilled because the photo is a bit out of focus around the edges.

But why would Nao and the other people get so worked up by a photo? A nothing special photo randomly shot on the rooftop of some building? 

You look back up at Nao questioningly, but the brown haired man only shoves the iPad closer to you.

You look at the photo more closer this time, and your eyes widen as you begin to realize what the photo is really about.

"Oh my goodness." You cannot think of what else to say.

Are you really seeing what you think you are seeing?

Something is on the ground, some darkened figure sprawling on the narrow alley between two buildings, the lighting is poor so it is difficult to make out much details; and there are a few other figures standing around this unknown object too. And those figures look like they are...policemen?

Why would there be policemen gathering in an alley? And what is that...thing sprawled on the ground?

Is...the darkened stains surrounding this thing...actually blood!?

Blood on the ground?

Cold, numbing fear spider-walks up and down your spine as you start to understand you are not looking at a 'thing', it is a human you are looking at. Or rather it used to be human once before someone else ended his or her existence. You are looking at the remains of a dead person.

Finally you know what you have been really looking at, it is a corpse sprawled on the ground, surrounded by the victim's own pool of blood, and the police must have just arrived to the crime scene to take care of the matter.

The photo must have been taken before the police could isolate the scene and clean it of curious bystanders, and whoever took this photo must have leaked the images to the internet for people everywhere to view and share. 

Why would people take photos so disgusting and share it? Why would people actually look at those photos and share them around? You can't even begin to understand their motives.

For a brief moment, you think about the crowd in the hallway, you think about your coworker Nao and how he shoved his iPad to you, you think about how you clicked the link despite the words of warning and your own gut feeling telling you it isn't right.

Despite the disgust and fear, the urge to _see_ what is forbidden has always been there.

Like the other people, you had failed to withstand temptation, you had peered at what is forbidden to see, and now you are regretting it.

You should have remembered what had once been beheld can never be unseen.

Even after you averted your eyes from that horrible sight, the images and the grim details still continue to haunt your mind.

You know it isn't a victim of a natural death being captured on this photo. It is so obvious. The victim had been murdered, most likely by that infamous serial killer.

The evidence of homicide is just so _obvious_ , and that is why it is so terrifying to behold the remains of the victim.

Because it looks like parts of the victim's body _had been tossed out and eaten away_.

The realization hits you like a bucket of icy cold water over your head.

Who...what kind of person would do such thing to another person?

Eventually you push the iPad back to Nao. "It is so...upsetting."

"I know, right?" Nao replies, his voice tensed. "It's scary when such a thing had taken place so close to us--"

"What are you talking about?"

"You still don't get it?" This time a hint of amusement bleeds into Nao's voice. "You didn't recognize the buildings, or the street?"

Nao wants to bring up his iPad again, but you stop him before it is too late. You have absolutely no desire to view that photo again. 

Nao tries to say something, but you are already turning away, you need to get away from here, away from anything which can remind you of murder, a broken human form, gruesome crime scenes and death.

Unluckily distance alone can't make you forget your coworker's last words.

_so close to us..._

In a flash, you understand what Nao was referring to. Realization hits you with its full force as you find yourself recognizing the buildings and the narrow alley in the photo.

The crime scene...that place where the victim's body was discovered, is somewhere close to your workplace.

to be continued.


	3. twisted dreams chapter III Rendezvous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This first ever encounter took place shortly after the pair moved into the apartment next to yours.

twisted dreams 

Chapter III 

_Rendezvous_

_Blood moon invite bad dream_

_D'espairsRay - Reddish -diva version-_

 

Unsurprisingly, the newly discovered corpse of the latest murdered victim of the brutal serial murder case has managed to once again make the headline of every news reports and newspapers. Although the leaked gruesome photos of the marred remain of the victim in the crime scene had quickly been taken down within the matter of the first few hours, still the gruesome rumors have already been spreading far, like wildfire. 

Online and offline, people keep talking about this serial murder, by now it has become a full-on sensation. Now there are tighter patrols in most neighborhoods, more police's manpower has been added to the ongoing investigation, once again the authority is warning people to be on guard and be cooperative with the authority, if the citizens had encountered any suspicious individual, they should contact the police immediately. 

_Suspicious individual?_ You hear those words when you are washing dishes whilst half-listening to the new report on the radio. People from all over the city will be phoning in to report every _suspicious individual_ living near them. Therefore, how exactly should the police be able to tell which one of those reported individuals is the real killer and who isn't? 

_Suspicious individual_ , these words remind you of no other than your next door neighbors. This skinny brown haired youth with his barely-there smile, and the older man who lives with him.

It has been a little more than a month since this pair of new neighbors moved in, their strange behaviors have long come under your attention; as time passed your curiosity only seems to grow. There are so little you know about these two, you barely exchanged a few words with the youth in the hallway, so perhaps you are thinking too much. Still, by normal standards, people who don't have a nine-to-five job, which your neighbors obviously don't have, always _look_ a little suspicious.

Secondly, those fights between those two, which you had overheard now and then, are also a bit worrying. People who lead a normal, wholesome life just wouldn’t fight like this. Therefore it is also a bit...suspicious. 

As mentioned before, you did have your little encounter with one of your....mysterious neighbors before...this brown haired youth, the younger looking one among the two. As to the other male who also lives next door with this youth, you have never talked to nor interacted with him in any manner, still you have already done your little observation on this particular person. And this man seems to be an even more enigmatic figure than the youth.

***  
_  
This first ever encounter took place shortly after the pair moved into the apartment next to yours. Back then you were a bit curious about your new neighbors and their lack of interaction with the rest of the residents, they didn’t leave their apartment much, they didn’t go out to greet their neighbors at all; but at that point you were never too concerned or curious about them. If your new neighbors wished to keep to themselves, they were within their rights to enjoy all the privacy they wanted, so long as they didn’t cause troubles to the neighborhood, no one would complain._

_You were down with flu that day, so you had called in sick and stayed home to rest, by afternoon you felt a bit stronger than before. In need of food and other commodities, you decided to leave home for a short walk to the convenience store nearby._

_Coughing, and with a facial mask covering half of your face, you stepped out of your tiny apartment and locked the door behind you. The hallway was empty and you honestly didn’t expect anyone else to be around at this hour, you knew most people would have already gone to school or work._

_You were heading toward the direction of the staircase, your thoughts already turning to the list of commodities you had planned to shop, then at this very moment, a figure walked into the opposite side of the hallway._

_For a moment, neither of you remembered to react, couldn't even remember to fake politeness or pretend not seeing each other by avoiding eye contact, the two of you just freeze in the moment, eyes locked and took in the first full gaze of each other._

_It is the first time you have a chance to directly observe the man in question. He has moved into the apartment next to yours for a short while now but you have never exchanged a word with him, not even a nod, not even an eye-to-eye straight look between the two of you._

_He was a tall, black haired male in his late twenty or early thirty. The deep color suit he wore look finely cut, fitting and expensive-looking to a point of reminding you of a professional, or a high ranking businessman, but you were not fooled by his clean cut outlook and his smart looking outfit, those guarded, predatory eyes of his, the edgy expression on his face and his presence had given him away._

_Whoever this man...this _stranger_ was, he wasn’t someone who walked the bright and righteous path of life, he was someone who you didn’t want to cross, he was trouble. Provoking him would mean looking for troubles and pain for yourself. That much you could tell._

__Stay out, stay away. _His whole person seemed to be signaling._

_The man stared at you with his guarded eyes, his expression wasn’t friendly but at least it wasn’t one with malice. It was an odd hour after all, and like you, the man obviously didn't expect to see you or anyone else here. Now he stood there, eyeing you as impassively as a scientist eyeing a test subject. You could feel his gaze on you, intensive and calculative, siding you up, measuring you._

_For you, it felt like a long time had passed, but in reality probably not more than a heartbeat had gone by before the spell was broken. The other man was the first one to snap out of it, throwing you an impassive last glance, then he started to walk again, this time pointedly looking ahead of himself as he walked past you, reaching toward the front door to his apartment._

_It was only after the man went out of your sight, you managed to remember to get your feet to move, so you walked away, doing the best you could to suppress the urge to turn and look backward._

_After this first encounter, you saw the same man in passing from time again, here and there. Sometime the man walked past you on the hallway, sometime you caught sight of the glimpse of him as he climbed up the stairs ahead of you. That is more or less the interaction you had ever had with this unknown man who lives next to you._  
  
****

A few days later in the morning, you step out of the apartment building, once again on your way to work. 

You are about to cross the street and head toward the train station, but before you make the usual turn to the left, something catches your eyes and your attention.

You catch sight of a familiar figure on the sidewalk, right opposite of the apartment building. It is the unnamed youngster from the flat next to yours.

You also cannot believe your own eyes, you hadn’t seen this youth (whose name you still don’t even know) ever since the brief encounter at the top of the staircase, but now, here he is.

The youth is currently leaning on an iron rail, facing the road, he has a look that indicates he is here waiting for someone. His head turns to one side as he stands there. He doesn’t turn toward your direction, he doesn’t make any sign to show he has noticed your presence, but somehow you aren’t entire certain he is unaware of you, spying on him. Perhaps he is only pretending not to notice. You just cannot tell.

You can only watch, .you don’t feel comfortable enough to approach and greet the youth in any causal manner, so you can only watch him from afar. 

At the same time you feel stupid, there is a voice in your head asking you: _What are you doing actually?_

It feels so much like you are stalking the youth. Or is _that_ exactly what you are doing? Stalking someone else whom you barely know?

You are still trying to convince yourself to go away when a shiny sport-car drives down the street,stopping before where the youth stands.

Even from across the street, you can see a smile blooming on the youth’s face. A smile that radiates joy, unlike the one he gave you at the staircase. 

You watch as the brown haired youth gets inside the car smoothly, as though he is used to being picked up by expensive vehicles like this. Once the car’s door is closed, the sport-car drives away.

Staring at the now-empty spot where the youth had stood a mere seconds before, it takes you sometime to will yourself to turn.

You had seen the driver’s face, and you have to admit you weren’t even surprised when the driver turned out to be no other than the dark haired man who lived together with the youth.

As you walk, you remember how no one seems to know what this enigmatic guy does for a living, how he doesn't seem like he needs to go out for work like everyone else have to, yet he had fine suits at his dispose, and smarty sport-car as his ride. Why does life seem to be so easy for some people?

More thoughts come into mind: a few days ago you had seen this man stationing himself in a cafe nearby,with a MacBook placed in front of him, he stared at the screen before him whilst talking to someone on his cellphone. So the guy must be doing some kind of job or trade for a living, although you can't imagine what his business actually is. 

There is something shadowy about this guy, is it possible that he is a drug dealer...or worse?

Some odd aura always seems to vibe from this man's lean form, something edgy and unstable, a sense of danger seems to linger on his person.

 

Who is this man, and who is the younger man who lives with him? What business are they having here?

You wonder will you ever find this out.

To be continued.


	4. chapter IV 0.1 business before pleasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one knows...because one can only know the truth about the fragility of freedom when they have something fatal to hide, when they are on the run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: major weirdness and hints of violence in the end. And this capter is non-beta-ed.  
> Author’s Note: the narrator in this chapter is not the same one from the previous three chapters.

****

****

twisted dreams 

Chapter IV 0.1

_business before pleasure_

 

_Take me to Heaven, take me to Hell  
C'mon baby c'mon baby_

_The Bronx Casket Co. -Sherimoon_

***  
__

_You open the window on your side of the car, letting the wind to blow through. Fresh air is good, for the upcoming task that comes your way, you need something to sober yourself up as much as you could. It felt good, driving out of the city, away from its crowded streets and busy traffic, it gives you a sense of...freedom._

_Freedom is the one fragile thing out you must keep clinging onto, you know it is so fragile that it will break in your hands with just one slightest mischief._

_When everyone else seems to be enjoying their freedom, taking it for granted when only you know how frail and uncertain freedom really is._

_No one knows...because one can only know the truth about the fragility of freedom when they have something fatal to hide, when they are on the run._

_You know only too well you live only on borrowed time._

_You give a sideward glance to your company, who sits beside you on the passenger seat, he was looking out of the window, humping softly to himself._

_You can tell he is enjoying himself too, in some small way; at this moment you can’t ask for more. Such moment of peace between the two of you. No flash of anger, no outrage, not shouting, no meaningless fight...for now you have left these ugly, troubling moments behind. For now the two of you just...simply _be.__

_Perhaps you both need a break of some sort, to erase out some of the tension between the two of you, so you can both take a deep breath, exhale and then just be...free._

_This may very well be all that you need._

_Perhaps...things will turn for the better after all. For just this moment, you allow yourself to be hopeful, believing there is an end to the constant nightmares..._

_In this morning, you drive all the way out of the city. You do not travel alone, for your lover is currently sitting on the passenger seat, his eyes half closed, listening to some music through his earphones._

_The weather is fine, with wind blowing past you as you drive._

_When you stop at a traffic light, You feel a slight pressure at the top of your clad thigh, you glance downward to see your lover’s hand placed softly on your thigh._

_The younger man doesn’t look up but he must know your gaze is on him. Without waiting for you to respond, he starts to run his fingers up and down your clad thigh slowly, yet playfully, _seductively_._

_You stop him by gripping his hand, gently but firmly with yours, now he finally looks up at you, question in his eyes. You watch him, drinking in the look of uncertainty he so beautifully presents in front of you, then you shake your head._

_“Not now.” You tell him._

_With only two words, his hand withdraws from its previous position, and once again your younger lover sits back on his seat in a more proper manner. You had make yourself clear you do not desire any distraction at this moment, so he behaves himself accordingly._

_Now you become aware of the need to consecrate. You know you need to stay focused, there is an upcoming...meeting awaits you. This trip isn’t just a simple, causal drive with your lover, in fact you are expected to meet a certain person in a remote area for your...appointed exchange with him._

_You don’t want to meet this person, you don’t want to see him at all, but for money’s sake, you have to. After all, it is business._

_“Wait for me in the car, okay?” You tell the younger man, instructing him beforehand to stay put once they arrive at the site of the meeting._

_He nods._

To be continued in Chapter IV 0.2 


	5. chapter IV 0.2 business before pleasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one knows...because one can only know the truth about the fragility of freedom when they have something fatal to hide, when they are on the run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: major weirdness and hints of violence in the end. And this capter is non-beta-ed.  
> Author’s Note: the narrator in this chapter is not the same one from the previous three chapters.

twisted dreams 

Chapter IV 0.2

_Business before pleasure_

__

_After driving for another half an hour, you arrive to the meeting spot._

_Said meeting spot is just a lonely clearing at the end of a dirt road, surrounded by the woods from four sides, away from the main highway, no one can see the activity here from the outside. The surrounding is so quiet that if another vehicle drove down the road, you would definitely hear it beforehand. That’s exactly the point of choosing this place for the upcoming meeting._

_With a heavy suitcase in hand, you exit the car shortly after parking it at the edge of the clearing. Already you are hoping for this appointment to be over and done with. Much to your annoyance, there is no one else in the clearing, the other guy must be running late._

_You turn back to the direction of your car, and see your lover, still sitting on the passenger seat, waving back at you from inside when he notices you looking at him. At least he is behaving himself this time, good._

_In the next second, you hear the noise of another car approaching, you become alert, one hand reaching inside your pocket and feel the little switchblade you have hidden there. You are ready._

_Soon another car drives to the end of the dirt road and comes to a stop at the edge of the clearing, once the engine stopped running, a man exits from the car after he throws the car door shut behind him._

_“Hey, there you are!” The man you know as ‘Kenji’ grins wildly at the sight of you. You do not return his greeting, you keep quiet as your face still wear the same neutral expression. You do not trust the cheerfulness in Kenji’s voice, nor the big grin on his face, the same like you don’t believe ‘Kenji’ is his real name. There is barely any space for trust and fondness between the two of you, when your encounters with him mostly concern the exchange of money and the ‘products’ you have hidden in your suitcase._

_When Kenji finishes walking across the small clearing, gets close enough to stand in front of you, you hold up your suitcase and open it, showing Kenji what is inside._

_His eyes lit up at the sight of ‘the products’, all wrapped up in small plastic bags sitting within the suitcase, the whole package would be his for the taking and selling as soon as he hands you the money in exchange. That is part of the bargain: clear and sure exchange of goods and cash every time, no double crossing, no question asked, everyone goes home happy._

_At least this is how your trade with Kenji is supposed to work. Kenji wants the products you can offer, you need the cash he brings. You need the money to keep yourself and your lover safe; and for that reason alone, you need to stay in touch with this man...this…small time crook streetside_ drug dealer _, a guy who sells what he had taken from you and profiting from it as much as he can, sucking money out of the addicts like a greedy leech. Yet, you need him still, for having a dealer like him around is a lot safer for you than showing your face in front of a bunch of strangers and trading with them face to face. You need Kenji still, regardless of your growing mistrust against the guy, and your displeasure with his oily smile and his dead fish eyes._

___Kenji tries to grip the suitcase, but you hold fast and make him take out his payment and hand it to you before he can get to his spoil. You can never be ‘too careful’ when you are dealing with the likes of Kenji’s._ _ _

___“You always have the good stuffs, don’t you?” Kenji comments out of the blue with one of his arms wrapping around the suitcase like it is his baby son. At the same time his eyes linger to the direction of your car and the passenger sitting inside, indicating he means more than just ‘the products’ you have just sold him. Kenji knows your lover would follow you here but he doesn’t seem to mind, perhaps the guy took one look at your young looking, willowy boyfriend in the past and quickly came to believe he isn’t a threat._ _ _

___You refuse to acknowledge Kenji’s comment with a reply._ _ _

___There was a pause before surprisingly, you see Kenji suddenly throws the suitcase backward, then in the next instant, you see a gun appearing on the guy’s free hand._ _ _

___“Perhaps you will let me in on your secret ‘recipe’ now, mister?”_ _ _

___His gun is pointing right at you, and you curse under your breath. You have never wanted any trouble with your business dealing with Kenji, but you know this time trouble has found its way to you. By now Kenji’s intention cannot be more obvious. It has become clear the guy does not intend to simply hand over the money to you, nor allow you to keep the money. Instead he has intended to force you to spill the secret of your trade at gunpoint._ _ _

___You turn the situation over in your mind very quickly. Then it becomes crystal clear to you that even after you cooperate and share your secret with Kenji, the latter still may not even intend to let you leave this place alive._ _ _

___Despite the grave situation at hand, you still find yourself rolling your eyes impatiently, how pathetic for this man to think he can not only profit from ‘the products’ you had provided, but he can also thrust his sticky fingers in where he isn’t needed?_ _ _

___Kenji has make a mistake here. You have never been some little worm who can easily be bullied and threatened into submission, you do not intend to submit this time neither._ _ _

___So you speak up. “You want my secret, Kenji?”_ _ _

___“Yes! All these drugs that no one had ever seen before and no one knows what they are, tell me how you made them!”_ _ _

___Of course Kenji would want to know where this secret gold mine is from, but giving out this piece of information will be dangerous...especially for your lover._ _ _

___That makes it impossible for you to cooperate with Kenji, buying your way to safety is out of the question by now; your lover must be kept safe...._ _ _

___Right at this moment, Kenji is no longer a person to you, he has made himself become only a_ problem _to be dealt with. The faster you act, the better.__ _

___Feeling your muscles tensing in anticipation for the unavoidable fight, you prepare yourself._ _ _

___“Let me show you then.”_ _ _

___Yet, outwardly you are still looking calm and unmoved---just as calm as a person with a gun pointing at him can hopefully be, your body subtly swings to one side, hiding the moment of your left hand for an instant so you can fish the switchblade from your pocket and hide it beneath your sleeve._ _ _

___A switchblade doesn’t look much, but if you can lure Kenji to come closer---_ _ _

___Your scheme may have worked out fine, but Kenji’s expression has changed all of a sudden, You notice he isn’t looking at you anymore, but something---or someone behind you._ _ _

___You risk to turn a backward glance at your car, at once your suspicion is confirmed, Unbeknown to you, your lover had left the car and moved closer to you. Now he stands just about five feet behind you, his glance shifting from you to Kenji with uncertainty._ _ _

___“How...How did you get this close!?” Kenji’s gun is waving as well, pointing at you in one moment, then shifting to point at your boyfriend’s general direction the next. Despite being the man with a gun in hand, Kenji sounds scared, panicked._ _ _

___Quickly you turn your attention back on Kenji, you know you can no longer afford to shift attention from Kenji and his gun. You have already realized it isn’t possible to let matters end in peace, not this time._ _ _

___So the problem will be dealt with_ now _.__ _

___At the edge of your vision, you can see your lover slowly creeping toward Kenji, almost like a wildcat stalking its prey._ _ _

___His unusual action probably frightens Kenji even more, making him even more nervous. In this moment, the man’s dead fish eyes were focused almost entirely on your lover, not you---_ _ _

___That’s the opening you are looking for._ _ _

___In a flash, you get your switchblade ready, swinging it high over your head before you drive the deadly little weapon down into Kenji’s thick neck._ _ _

___Your blade has driven deep into Kenji’s neck, thankfully you didn’t hit any bone, still it takes you much effort to pull the blade back out._ _ _

___Oh, how the blood rushes from the wound like a crimson spring, for an instant you are mesmerised by the bright red oozing out from the injured man, unaffected by the fact his blood oozing up to hit you right on your face, tainting your clothes, you drive the blade in again, just to make sure Kenji will sure past on to his next life faster with your help._ _ _

___***_ _ _

___You know you can’t afford to stay in this place for long after what you had done. You are no stranger to messy businesses like this, but it doesn’t mean you like to stay back, bet your time and enjoy the mess you had just created. Especially when such a bloody mess is left right here for you to handle._ _ _

___As remote as this place might be, you still know better than to just leave a corpse out in the open. Flies will gather, then they will be followed by birds of prey and wild animals looking for dead meat, and who knows what might follow after the traces left by those birds and animals?_ _ _

___Or worse, someone else may drive along this dirt road and discover the corpse by accident before the dead body can decompose entirely. So you must hurry up to hide this mess._ _ _

___You are removing your blood stained shirt and using the clean part of it to wipe your face when you remember your boyfriend. Instinctively you whirl your head back only to find the younger man silently standing behind you._ _ _

___Lowing your stained shirt, you watch his face for a long moment, you see no disturb on the other man’s beautiful face, his eyes are fixing solely on you, he doesn’t seem to seem to pay much attention to the corpse lying on the ground._ _ _

___As always there is no shock or fear on the youth’s delicate face, as always he is patiently waiting for you to give your orders._ _ _

___Good._ _ _

___Still shirtless, you stand up, seizing the briefcase which had previously fallen to the ground. Kenji obviously doesn’t need this briefcase and what is inside anymore, so you better do some recycling._ _ _

___You move the briefcase to where the spreading pool of Kenji’s blood can’t reach, then you kneel beside the dead body, cocked your head to glance back at your lover once more, the latter has remained quiet for the whole time._ _ _

___“Come here and help me out.” You tell him._ _ _

___He obeys, just like he had always done in the past._ _ _

___You so want to leave this godforsaken place, but unluckily, the cleaning has taken the two of you a few hours of hard work, at one point you even have to use Kenji’s car key and drive his car to somewhere else for abandonment while your lover must stay behind to help finishing up._ _ _

___In the end, it is done. And as a final touch, your lover cuts Kenji’s remaining blood stained clothes into tiny little pieces, then with your help he sets them all on fire with a lighter._ _ _

___By this point, both of you will need to clean your face and hands, then change into the spare clothes hidden at the backseat of your car before anyone else see the two of you. It won’t do for the two of you to go into public area wearing dirty, blood-stained outfits, not at all._ _ _

___Thankfully you have always come with preparation stored in your car. Preparation is more than necessary when you are living your life in shadows._ _ _

___As you finally drive away from the clearing with your boyfriend, you turn the whole episode over in your mind, you are a bit surprised by how calm you had been for the whole time, your hands were steady, you didn’t break into cold sweat. It was so unlike the first few times you had committed similar acts._ _ _

___Some people said you can never get used to such an act, the shock and the fear; perhaps they are wrong._ _ _

___Rob and steal, grip then run, lying, double crossing and silencing the witnesses whenever you must. By now you won’t even hesitate to do what is necessary._ _ _

_____ _

__To be continued._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think?


	6. chapter V: Rendezvous II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You don’t know what he has seen on your face, but it must be enough to convince him to put some trust on you.
> 
> “I’m hungry.” After a long pause he confesses, looking embarrassed. 
> 
> “There is a convenience store down the block.” You suggest.
> 
> “I don’t have money.” The younger man looks away shyly.

twisted dreams

Chapter V 

_Rendezvous II_

 

Another morning, you are preparing for a new day in your own apartment, fixing yourself some breakfast in the small kitchen. In the living room, the television is on so you can catch some news report. 

_\--another victim was found last night--_

You frown. So it is news about the serial murder case again, not what you would particularly prefer to be informed about so early in the morning.

_\--The victim is identified as Yuko Suzuki, a 25 years old primary school teacher--_

Despite of your displease, you still find your gaze falling upon the TV screen, just in time to see the latest victim’s face appears on the news' update: a young woman with brownish straight hair falling over her shoulders, a heart-shaped face, a carefree smile on her lips, a pair of fashionable looking glasses over her bright deep brown colored eyes.

Poor girl, so young, so sweet looking, lost her life so soon to a monster. Another victim to the murderer’s sick fancy.

_\--The police department has called for anyone with information to contact them--_

You switch off the television.

***

Today, things had gone smoothly for you in your workplace, you performed your tasks without any hitch, everyone was hard at work, at the end of the even your boss praised your team for a job well done; you are more than grateful for an encouraging outcome like this.

You get off the train, you buy yourself some takeaway food outside of the train station before making your way home. Your steps were lighter than usual, you whistled as you ascend the stairs on your way back to your apartment.

That is how you encounter the mysterious youth who lives next door again when you go back to the apartment from work. 

Once again, he is sitting on the staircase when you see him.

You stop at the same time the deep blond haired youth looks up, his eyes finding yours instantly.

Your mind races at once, what is he doing here? How should you react? Should you just walk past right the youth causally? Ignore him entirely? Or just walking past him with a nod or a simple and meaningless ‘hello’? 

While you are still frozen in place debating with yourself how to react, the blond haired teen with his delicate face was still staring at you quietly, like a curious, elegant wild animal sitting among the bushes, waiting in a somewhat calculative way.

Swallowing hard, you decide to start a conversation, before you lose your courage. “Hey...”

The youth replied your awkward greeting with a half smile. Then he speaks up. “Care if I have one cigarette?” 

After a pause, he adds on shyly as if afraid of being turned down. “...just one.”

Not having the heart to turn him down, you fish out your pack of cancer sticks and hand it to the younger man, alongside with your lighter.

The youth slowly stands up then takes these two small items from your hand. Once again he lights a cigarette with the lighter, inhaling deeply from it, before releasing a thin cloud of toxic smoke through his pale lips slowly. By now the expression on his face seems more relax, still you notice the youth does look tired, for some unknown reason. There are dark circles under his eyes, plus he is currently standing with one elbow resting on the iron rail of the staircase and one side of his body causally pressing to the wall next to him, as though he lacks the strength to stand up straight. Perhaps he isn’t feeling well?

Yet, this time the youth seems to be in no hurry to leave, so when he hands your cigarette and lighter back, you decide to treat yourself with one cigarette too.

So you press your back to the wall behind you, leaning against it like the youth is doing, then lit your own cancer stick and enjoy it. You stand facing the youth, while the latter stands a few steps up on the staircases, from the opposite side of you. 

After taking a few draws from the cigarette, You try to open a proper conversation “A hard day, huh?” 

You know how overused your line is, but it is still better than silence, right? Plus the youth does look worn out.

Upon hearing your question, the teen’s pair of brown eyes become focused on you again, then he nods absentmindedly. 

“What are you doing now?” You also want to ask: _‘Are you waiting for...someone?’_ Luckily, you caught yourself before you actually utter those words. Those words would most likely make you look more of a fool than you currently are.

“I hadn't seen anyone all day.” The youth states simply.

“Huh?” You look at him questioningly, waiting for his reply.

The blond haired teen shrugs, hugging himself with his thin arms as though he feels cold. “Nothing.”

You can tell something is in the youth’s mind, even though he talks like everything is fine.

“What’s up?” After a moment, you decide to ask again gently. “Is there anything I can help?”

The blond teen looks up to stare quietly at you, as though he is trying to read something, some signs, out of your expression. 

You don’t know what he has seen on your face, but it must be enough to convince him to put some trust on you.

“I’m hungry.” After a long pause he confesses, looking embarrassed. 

“There is a convenience store down the block.” You suggest.

“I don’t have money.” The younger man looks away shyly.

“What? Then how did you---”

“I must wait for _him_ to return, only then I can...” His words traces off into nothingness.

Is this boy saying he can only have food when his older male flatmate is around? That is another surprise. You wonder why didn’t the man leave any money behind for this teen? It is understandable for an seemingly underage boy to have no income, but to leave said boy to wander around by himself with not a penny, this sounds really unusual, and… _uncaring._

15 minutes later, the two of you end up going to a nearby family restaurant, for you had decided to treat the younger man with a quick meal. Once settled down at a corner of the restaurant, you had only ordered a cup of hot coffee for yourself (since you still have your takeaway meal placed next to your bag, sitting on the chair next to you), then after looking at the menu for some time, the blond haired youth finally ordered a regular meal for himself.

Once the waitress left your table after taking your orders, you and your company are left sitting oppositely from one another. At first neither of you seem to know what to say, but in the end, once again you take the first step to start a conversation. 

“What is your name?” You ask.

This time he offers you his name without much hesitation. 

It seems to be a good start. So in turn you introduce yourself as well. 

Then, you move on to the next topic as casually as possible. “Are you new in this town?”

A slow smile spread across the youth’s face. “You can say so.”

And it is a beautiful smile.

“Where are you from, then?”

To your disappointment, this time the youth says nothing. He merely looks at you with a blank expression, as though he can’t understand your question.

Or perhaps he is merely trying to play dumb to avoid inconvenient questions?

“Perhaps I should talk more about myself first, huh?” You try another approach. “I’ve been in this city for almost four years. When I first came here it was for my education, but now I stay here for work. How about you?”

“I...I think I have mostly been…. _drifting_.” The youth replies, choosing his words carefully.

“Your… _flatmate_ brought you here?”

"Again, you can say so." This time the youth replies with a shrug.

You would have asked more questions, but at this point, the waitress has returned and lays out the ordered food and drinks on the table.

Again, the skinny youth hesitates even after a plateful of steamy, hot meal is placed in front of him. He steals a gaze at you as if seeking permission, to that you can only shrug and give him an encouraging smile, a signal for him to start. 

So the boy starts, picking up a fork then attacking the food instantly. His table manner is by no mean graceful as he wolfed down his meal quickly, but at least it isn’t a vulgar sight to behold. You almost feel sorry for the youth at this point, noting how… _hungry_ he actually seems to be. 

“You are a good man, mister.”

“Huh? It’s nothing...really.” You can’t help wondering what kind of people this youth had encountered, what kind of life he had led, exactly what he had experienced in the past to make him think a stranger offering him a meal for free actually can make this stranger ‘a good guy’ in his book.

“But you _care_ , you bothered to stop and help me. That is far more than most people would do to someone they barely know.”

There seems to be some truth in the younger man’s words, but you don’t have a proper response for such comment, so you keep quiet, sipping your coffee as you watch the youth eats. The youth doesn’t seem to mind your gaze, at least not enough to be self-conscious.

There is no conversation between you whilst you watch the blond haired youth drinks his glass of coca cola slowly with a straw. He drinks it slowly, his eyes half closed, enjoying every sip of the sweet cool beverage.

Then, entirely out of the blue a cell phone started ringing loudly, breaking the silence around you and the teen.

Startled, it takes you a second to realize the sound of the ringing came from the youth who sits opposite of you.

Looking almost as startled as you, the youth puts his glass down and quickly fishes out a cell phone from his pocket, then he looks at the screen while his cell phone is still ringing, indicating someone is calling him.

Just one look at the screen, you notice something changes instantly on the younger man’s expression---his expression darkens considerably.

You lean forward, about to ask the youth what is wrong and why he suddenly looks alarmed, but you have no chance to bring up any more answer because in the next moment, the youth gets up from his seat abruptly.

“Sorry, I gotta go.” The youth stated absent-mindly, barely looking at you. Then before you can react, he runs right off, running through the exit of the restaurant and disappears.

Just like that.

You collapse back to your own seat, hopelessly perplexed.

****

The blond haired youth runs across the street without a backward glance to the restaurant and the next door neighbor he left behind. Originally he was having a good and relaxing time with this man, but this phone call from _him_ , it changed anything. 

So now the blond haired youth keeps running, bumping into passerby now and then, causing a few angry shouts at his wake, but not once does he stop. 

When _he_ calls, the teen must respond. 

Still, he recalls this man...his next door neighbor, who took him to the restaurant for a late afternoon lunch.

Now he feels bad about treating the guy like this, running off from the restaurant like this, without explanation, acting impulsive and unreasonable all at once when this man had been nothing but kind toward him.

It is too late, his impulsiveness must have done its damage by now, his neighbor must be annoyed by him, most likely he won’t want to have anything to do with him in the future.

When would he ever learn? His actions always land him to this exact same spot. Trying to make friends doesn’t work, hasn’t been working. So why is he still trying anyway? He should remember...no one is there waiting for him, looking after him.

Expect _him._

Because no one else would care for a… _freak_ like him.

 _He_ should be enough. He should want for nothing, what _he_ has provided should be enough for him.

When will he ever learn? He can run for as long as he likes, his feet can always carry him far, far away; yet he can never, never run from himself.

Out of the blue, a sudden wave of nausea hits him hard right at the pit of his stomach, causing him to stumble,nearly falling over himself as he tries to slow down.

Breathing hard, the youth now leans against a nearby wall, his upper body bending forward as he struggles to catch his own breath. Beads of cold sweat breaking across his forehead as he tries to will his racing heart to slow down. Images swim before his eyes as he fights against another wave of dizziness.

In the end, his effort on self-control proves to be fruitless. Unable to retain himself he starts to puke on the sidewalk, staining the ground around the tip of his worn boots with the vomit and the half digested food he had just consumed.

 

To be continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! What do you think?


	7. chapter VI fire and smoke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And you are dumbfounded by what you see, for you can recognize the face in the photo: a young woman with brownish straight hair, a heart-shaped face, the same carefree smile, a pair of glasses over her deep brown colored eyes.
> 
> It is the face of the latest murdered victim of the infamous serial killer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: this chapter is un-beta-ed!  
> Note 2: we get double POVs in this chapter

Part 6 _fire and smoke_

_At the tips of our tangled fingers_  
The scars glisten, fresh and blue  
Tongues entwined, sliding in deep  
Ah, so sweet I could melt 

_Buck-Tick -Victims of Love_

_  
In your rented apartment, you are preparing to start a new day. It is eight in the morning, by the standard of ordinary people, it is around the exact period of time for starting a new day, preparing themselves to go to work or school. Though it is not the same case for you, you need to prepare yourself, but it isn’t for the sake of work or study, it is just something...else._

_You are not among one of the ordinary people, you don’t usually start your day in the refreshing, blinding sunlight in the morning, but today is an exclusion._

_Your glance falls back to the figure lying on the narrow bed, his thin body tangling with the wrinkled sheets. _He_ is the reason why you are living this life now, why you had chosen to walk down the path of this dangerous life._

_Though you must admit you had barely been a model citizen even before _he_ entered your life, still once _he_ came into the picture, the life as you knew it had been literally turned... _upside down.__

_In the past, before all these madness had started, you had already brushed with the laws, you used to earn fast money by doing...illegal things, in your line of work you had done dangerous things before, getting into fights, breaking and entering etc, you had soon learnt to watch your back and played dirty. Still you had never dreamt how your life would turn out after your fatal encounter with _him_ : always in hiding, moving from one town to the next, always covering your tracks, covering up your secrets. So many secrets. _So many dark, deadly secrets.__

_Almost all of the policemen out there are searching for you, even when they still haven’t yet known it is _you_ they are searching and hunting for. They still don’t know enough details about you, they still haven’t yet be able to pinpoint your face, your where about, your very name. They still haven’t figured these out yet._

__Yet. __

_Deep down, you suspect it may very well be only a matter of time before they catch up._

_Unconsciously you shake your head as if trying to shake your own gloomy thoughts away, though they won’t leave you alone so easily. Once more, you wonder: have all of your troubles been worth it? Has it been enough for you to give up your old life and entered this strange, new, unstable life with _him_?_

_It always comes down to _him.__

_Him._

_Your obsession, your bane, your personal demon, your downfall._

_You think you have heard some noise from the bedroom, so you go back to there to check on your lover, thinking he may be awaken. And...there he is, lying on the narrow bed he shares with you, stretching his limbs lazily under the thin sheet covering most of his body, now his half-lidded eyes are peering up at you as you approach._

_He gives you a sleepy smile when you bend down to him, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. Naturally he kisses back, but you can’t afford to linger, therefore you break the kiss despite of your lover’s disappointed pout as he glances at your outfit, this formal suit of yours is enough to indicate to him you are leaving and you probably won’t have time to spend with him for the rest of today._

_“Wait for me, okay?” You request in a manner you hope is reassuring, an unsaid promise to return. It seems to work, your lover’s pout smooths over and eventually he nods quietly in response._

_Then you leave the apartment, closing the door behind you._

_Your lover knows you so well, he isn’t worry, not really. For he knows you will return no matter what. Return to him, for him._

_Of course you will return to him. Nothing can stop you from returning, as long as you still draw breathes. He is the best thing that has ever happened to you in your life, and at the same time _the worst._ _

_Heaven and Hell, honey and dark poison, all wrapped up in a sweet, innocent looking package.  
_

****

You have a half day off today so you spend your free time with taking a walk alongside the riverbank while the sun is sinking slowly beneath the horizon. You walk alone on the dam next to the river, and as far as you can see, there is no one else in sight, which is a bit unusual. Usually joggers would jog along the sidewalk on top of the dam, or people would walk their dogs, but today the gloomy weather and the cold wind had kept these people in their homes instead of having their outing.

You chuckle a bit as the harsh wind forces you to zip up your coat right up to your neck. Clever people would have remained indoor under this type of weather, but you...let’s just say your whims and impulse don’t always allow you to make the sensible decisions. 

It isn’t like you have much to do in your home other than playing some video games, and people had always talked about how having a long walk once in a while would do wonders to your health, no harm done, right?

Now it is getting even colder as the sun almost disappears entirely beneath the tops of the hills, perhaps it is time you to go back to your comfortable but lonely apartement.

It is until you see smoke coming from the riverbank ahead of you.

You pause, wondering who may be burning things at this time of the day. You know some residents (thankfully not so many of them) from around this community used to burn their unwanted household items at the riverbank,even though everyone have been advised not to do so. After all burning things in public areas doesn’t do much good to the environment and tidiness.

Out of pure curiosity, you step closer to the edge of the dam and look down, you see there indeed is a bonfire on the riverbank about 15 feet below where you stand; and a man with his back on you, stands before the bonfire, throwing a few items into the flame as you watch.

The fingers of the flame jump upward, burning brighter as the unknown objects are fed into it.

The darkly-clad man stands very still before the fire, then his head turns from one side to the other, as if to make sure no one has witnessed the burning, then he quickly turns on his heels and walks away from the scene.

It is fortune that this man doesn't look upward or he would have instantly found you spying on him on top of the dam. Nonetheless you take a step back to keep yourself out of the man’s sight, for out of pure instinct you understand it isn’t wise to let this man discover your presence. Even luckier still, is when the man turns, you manage to catch a good look of his face, and it is confirmed this man is one and the same with your newly-moved-in mysterious neighbour next door, the older, silent man.

What is this weirdo doing here? You sense the other man doesn’t wish for his activities to be witnessed by anyone, that explains why he so quickly fled even before the items he thrown into the fire can be completely consumed.

As soon as the silhouette of the tall dark haired man disappears from your line of vision, you act at once, finding the nearest staircase, descending from it and then you run toward the bonfire. You know time and the flame is against you so with quick thinking you pick up a long dry branch from a fallen tree nearby and paw the burnt black objects from the fire.

It takes a while for the smoke to extinguish and you can have a better look at the objects in question. At first you don’t quite understand what you are seeing, then your eyes widen when you realize these are burned clothes and a mass of longish hair which seemingly belong to _a woman._

You pause at your finding. This guy obviously doesn’t live with any female. Why would this man want to destroy these items, where did he get them from?

You use the long branch again to paw at the burnt pieces of woman’s clothes, then unexpectedly, something small and slim comes off from among the blackened fabric. 

This small item is a piece of fire-damaged plastic card, at least half of it was burnt but the other half of it has survived the fire, and you realize it must be some kind of an identity card, for you see there is a photo on the undamaged part of the card.

You pick the card up immediately, winking as the remaining heat on its plastic surface nearly burns your fingers. You have to loosen your grip when you study the photo on the card more carefully. 

And you are dumbfounded by what you see, for you can recognize the face in the photo: a young woman with brownish straight hair, a heart-shaped face, the same carefree smile, a pair of glasses over her deep brown colored eyes.

It is the face of the latest murdered victim of the infamous serial killer.

Too shocked to even form a conhenet thought, all you can do is to stare at the photo. And when eventually your brain slowly starts to function again, something unpredicted happens: a gust of strong wind blows across the river, before you can react, the thin piece of damaged card has been carried away by the wind. 

It takes a few seconds before your body can react, you chase after the card, hoping to recover it, but you just aren’t fast enough, in the end you can only watch helplessly when the card drops into the river and disappears under the waves.

To be continued.


End file.
